The chart in the $150,000 Bed o’ Roses Handicap (gr. III) (VIDEO) states the winning margin was a head, but in truth it was a bob of the head.

Second-choice Rightly So (Read the Footnotes—Fit Right In, by Out of Place) ran an extraordinarily gutsy wire-to-wire race and held off a late and furious charge by even-money favorite Qualia (Saarland—Amalake, by Meadowlake). Had the seven-furlong race been a length shorter, Rightly So would have been second.

As anticipated, Rightly So was the pacesetter after the first quarter-mile, which the 4-year-old filly has been in seven out of her nine lifetime starts. Jockey Cornelio Velasquez showed a lot of confidence in his mount’s ability to carry her speed by taking her through an opening quarter in a punishing :22.21, followed by an equally blazing :44.99 half-mile.

“She always runs big, but today she wanted to go fast,” said Velasquez. “The track is fast, too, but I had a lot of horse at the top of the stretch and she finished well. The other filly (Qualia) is a nice filly, too.”

At the top of the stretch, Rightly So was still a length and half ahead of Qualia, who tracked her in second throughout the race. Qualia, a 4-year-old filly ridden by Rajiv Maragh, made a serious charge at the leader and caught up with her with a sixteenth of a mile to go. The head bob, however, went to Rightly So in a final time of 1:22.44.

“My horse had no excuse; she had every chance to get by, and she just got nosed out,” said Maragh. “She ran hard to the end. The other filly is more seasoned. My filly made a big step forward, first time in stakes company, and I think she showed she belonged. She has a nice future.”

The winner is owned by Zayat Stables. She was bred in New York by Sequel 2003 and was sold by Sequel Bloodstock for $220,000 through the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co’s February 2-year-olds in training sale to Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables. The Bed o’ Roses was the filly's third stakes victory and her first in a graded stakes. She has now won five races and has lifetime earnings of $330,050.

Finishing third in the race was McVictory, a daughter of Victory Gallop—Emma’s Dilemma, by Capote, who was ridden by Ramon Dominguez and owned by WinStar Farm.